


Human Gestures

by znks (shanksmuseum)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Illusions, M/M, POV Stiles, They get stuck in a video game, Trickster - Freeform, Tricksters, the game is portal 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-09 00:46:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1962573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanksmuseum/pseuds/znks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So, I tried,” Stiles started with an apologetic shrug. “Looks like we're stuck here until we complete the game.”</p><p>Derek huffed, Stiles was sure it was another one of his almost-laughs.</p><p>"Your mouth usually serves to get us into trouble, not out. It would have surprised me if that had worked.”</p><p>Offended, Stiles slapped Derek's shoulder. "I'll have you know my mouth has many skills!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Gestures

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my darling Beeny, happy birthday my love <3
> 
> Thank you to Charlotte for reading through this to make sure there were no glaring grammatical errors made whilst half asleep.
> 
> Although I've written some vague Sterek before this still counts as my first official Teen Wolf fic, so, cherry be gone!
> 
> Ps: You don't have to know Portal to understand the story. I think. You might get a whee bit confused but that's okay.

All they were given were rules. In pictogram form.

It took about a minute before Stiles understood what had happened.

“Oh, my god. We just got Portal-ed.”

Derek closed his eyes, like he didn’t even want to know what Stiles meant. 

“Derek, this is a game! We just got sent into a video game, how is th-”

The creature. The one they’d been after for over a week that always managed to evade them by somehow vanishing into thin air right in front of them even though they knew, through scent apparently, that it was still there.

They’d thrown around theories involving invisibility or teleportation but quickly they'd realized it was something else. Mind games and illusions.

It was made kind of obvious when they suddenly found themselves on the set of Pulp Fiction in the middle of the forest whilst running after it.

The next day they took a quick trip through the Sahara desert during a chase that led nowhere.

They should have known it was planning something bigger.

Like an entire immersion fantasy that wouldn’t let them out until they completed a puzzle. Or in the case, an entire game.

If Stiles wasn’t so angry and terrified when he realized if either of them died it would be permanent he would have found it cool, or at least been vaguely impressed.

They spent two hours going over the rules and figuring out the physics of it all.

“So orange is the slidey-slide and blue is...”

“Bounce.”

“Right, blue is bouncey-bounce! Okay, yes, we can do this! I’ve been practicing my entire life for this!" 

Derek shook his head at him, jaw working as he ground his teeth. Whether it was out of annoyance towards Stiles or the situation or out of fear, Stiles didn’t know.

“This isn’t a game, Stiles.”

He scoffed in response, “Actually, it kind of i-”

“Stiles!”

He clamped his mouth shut.

Maybe Derek’s reactions really were out of fear because Stiles was pretty sure he knew when anger was a factor and the signs weren’t there this time.

“We’ll be fine, Derek. We just need to complete the... simulation.”

Derek turned to him, eyebrows knitted together. “Except if we die in this we die out there.”

Swallowing, Stiles clapped him on the back, “Nah, we’re a good team, we’ll break all the records and get out of here in no time. Just stop focusing on the negative so much!”

 

~ 

 

Three hours.

It took them three hours to complete the first puzzle.

After that they were hoping it’d be easier, they would have a better handle on things but it just got harder. The further they progressed the more difficult it got. Not only that but it also got deadly. 

Stiles remembered playing the game but he had never cared about death counts until he was suddenly faced with the massive abyss under each level himself.

As they had realized in the first room it didn’t hurt when they were thrown around like rag dolls because the physics of the game permitted that, but he knew far too well that if one of them fell off the map it was real life again.

By the time night must have fallen in their world, Derek had gotten the hang of it all but they were both so ridiculously cautious they weren’t moving fast enough.

Derek made them stop to sleep for a little bit when Stiles accidentally placed a portal underneath himself and almost went flying off the edge of the world and he would have had Derek not replaced his second portal with one of his own.

Stiles moaned about being forced to take a nap like a kindergartner until he was actually lying down where he fell asleep almost immediately.

When he woke up, he found Derek staring off into the darkness surrounding the world through a portal.

“Did you sleep at all?” Stiles asked around an obnoxious yawn that made his jaw crack.

“I did.”

It was enough of a response.

They continued on, sharp and focused because they didn’t have a choice.

Stiles was just starting to falter when they reached the start of a new section.

“Goo!” Stiles shrieked. “Derek, look! It’s the goo they told us about!”

The goo ended up not being as fun as Stiles had hoped.

It didn’t take long before they got frustrated, turning against each other out of lack of sleep and solutions.

“Shut up, Stiles!” Derek yelled.

“My idea will work!”

“It’s careless and idiotic, there’s no way we can get enough force for that and I don’t know about you but I don’t want to tes-”

Without thinking about it Stiles pushed Derek against the wall, forgetting the fact that they had painted it blue until Derek just bounced violently back into him sending them tumbling onto the orange floor. 

They slid dangerously fast up the ramp which was supposed to get them to the other platform if done right but they didn’t have enough momentum and Stiles stopped breathing because that meant they were about to just tumble off into the abyss.

He could feel Derek’s panic in the way his breathing was as frantic as his scrambled attempts at finding enough purchase and friction to stop them, grabbing uselessly at the floor.

Stiles gasped when he felt the edge of the ramp for the short second it took before he was dangling off it. He heard Derek yell his name as they fell.

Except Derek wasn’t falling with him; he was still on the ramp as he held on to Stiles for dear life, arms awkwardly wrapped around his upper body.

Stiles exhaled roughly as he felt himself slipping out of his hold.

“I’m sorry!” He blurted, surprised his throat even worked anymore with his heart and panic in the way.

Derek glared at him but his arms squeezed tighter as he started pulling Stiles up rather than let gravity take either of them down. Even once he managed to get Stiles on the edge and they slid down the ramp he didn’t let go of him.

Stiles was shaking so much he barely noticed that Derek was as well.

“Holy shit. Holy goddamn shit!” Stiles croaked out, forcing his eyes shut as a desperate attempt to calm the adrenaline rush.

“Stiles,” Derek snarled. He sounded as bad as Stiles felt and behind the anger there, his voice also held relief. Not just for himself but for Stiles as well.

“I know, big guy. Trust me, I know, no need to bring out the guilt inducing stares and eyebrow wiggles.”

Stiles let out a sharp breath when he felt rough fingers take hold of his chin, forcing him to open his eyes and face Derek.

“You’re alive,” Derek told him in a gentler tone than Stiles was expecting, especially considering he was the cause for that statement nearly not being the case. “We’re alive.”

Swallowing Stiles bit down on his lip, fighting against his body’s reaction as he felt a sting behind his eyes. He closed them and breathed out.

“I’m sorry.”

Derek let go of his chin and laid down next to him, close enough for Stiles to know he was forgiven.

“I knew humans were weak but, really? Taking another nap in the middle of a test?” The voice rang out, snapping them back to reality. “You disappoint me. Not that I care but your results stay on record and this is just embarrassing.”

Stiles ground his teeth together, resisting the urge to hiss.

Hearing the video character’s voice had been cool at first, much to Derek’s annoyance, but now she just made him angry. He didn’t remember hating her this much when he played the game.

“Naps are good for the soul!” He yelled, throwing his arms up towards the vague direction it was coming from. “You should try it sometime, maybe just rip yourself out of the power socket you came from and never turn back o-”

A hand haphazardly slapped against his mouth stopped him from continuing, which he would have. Easily.

His gaze shifted to Derek who had leaned up on his elbows to shut Stiles up. Derek’s mouth twitched a little in return, not quite a smile but close, before it quickly morphed into a frown when Stiles tried to bite - but really just lick - the palm blocking his mouth.

“She can’t really hurt us, she’s not actually controlling any of this,” Stiles mumbled when Derek pulled his hand away with a grimace before wiping it on his shirt.

“Are you trying to test me, test subject? Well isn’t that a lovely paradox.” Suddenly there were wires wrapping themselves around Derek from every side before pulling him off the floor and away from Stiles’ panicked grasp.

“Put him down!” he screamed, heart pounding.

He had already almost just killed them and now, once again, he’d put Derek in danger.

“I thought I couldn’t control anything,” she mocked, dangling Derek around like a puppet. “Apologize.”

Stiles frowned, he understood that the character couldn’t have any control, she was just a pawn in a bigger plan but something was off with her. 

He breathed in sharply through his nose. The creature, whatever kind of trickster it was, was controlling the illusion. It was there, talking to them through the disembodied voice from the game. 

“I’m sorry.” Stiles stood up. “I’m sorry for everything. Humans are... dumb. We’re careless individuals who run on selfishness sometimes and we forget about others. I’m sorry if we caused you any pain.”

The voice stayed quiet and Stiles wondered if he had gone too far. 

“Keep testing.”

Derek was dropped back on the ground and even though Stiles knew he wouldn’t feel any pain from it he still rushed over to him in a panic, hands already reaching out to check for injuries and bring comfort.

The fact that Derek even let him was actually what comforted _him_.

"So, I tried,” Stiles started with an apologetic shrug. “Looks like we're stuck here until we complete the game.”

Derek huffed, Stiles was sure it was another one of his almost-laughs.

"Your mouth usually serves to get us into trouble, not out. It would have surprised me if that had worked.”

Offended, Stiles slapped Derek's shoulder. "I'll have you know my mouth has many skills!"

That time he got a full, albeit surprised, laugh from Derek.

He would have been embarrassed about the accidental double entendre had he not gotten that reaction.

It took a while to get back into the swing of things, they were so much more careful and attentive, watching their every step and taking them with precaution.

Stiles especially; he was sure he could still feel his heart pounding like an echo of their near death experience. His hands still shook from it.

Derek was calmer, less reluctant to continue than Stiles for which he was grateful. He moved at a steady pace and if Stiles didn't know any better he would have thought it was for his sake, to show him he was forgiven.

They quickly lost their sense if time; none of the numerous bland white rooms they went through had any windows to show them the sun's progress. So they had to go by feeling, sleeping when they needed it, sometimes doing so in shifts on harder puzzles so the other could continue.

Stiles was positive they had been at it for over a week but Derek just scoffed and said it had barely been two days and Stiles was inclined to believe him.

They didn't realize how close they were to the end until Stiles noticed the numbers on the chamber wall when he backed into the starting corner to try and get a new perspective on the part of the puzzle they couldn't figure out.

"Wait th- Derek! Derek! This is almost the final test! We only one more to go after this one!"

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Derek's mind - Stiles decided there was no way a person could look that stoic after hearing such good news - before he was breathing out a sigh of relief, his entire body slumping slightly with it.

They’d somehow managed to go through each section without keeping track, like they’d wanted to keep how much more they had to do a surprise.

Stiles raised his hand up with a huge grin for a high-five. He knew Derek wouldn’t grant him one so he was surprised when Derek pulled him against him in a hug instead.

It didn’t last long but it was enough to leave Stiles standing there with his hand still in the air and his breath still in his throat when he’d forgotten to actually let it out.

Clearing his throat, Derek headed back towards the centre of the testing room.

The two final tests still took forever, even with the surge of energy that came from knowing how close to freedom they were. The final level was long and tedious, sectioned into multiple parts that had their hearts pounding.

But, after pressing all the right buttons, setting all the right portals and waiting the right amount of time they finally made all the right pieces click into place to get to the massive vault door that would lead them to freedom.

Stiles whooped with happiness, jumping up and down before running to join Derek at the back of the final stretch of orange covered floor they would have to run and slide across to get them on the platform in front of the vault.

He was still dancing a little with excitement when he joined Derek where he willingly let himself be pulled forward by his wrist as he continued to make celebratory noises and hip wiggles.

“Run,” Derek hissed without any heat before giving Stiles a little push.

For the first time since they’d started it actually was exhilarating to run as fast as the goo would take him and jump ridiculously far to reach the other side of the abyss.

By the time Derek had joined him on the small platform Stiles was doing a full two-step happy dance.

Unlike in the game, nothing happened to tell them what to do next but Stiles remembered from the time he and Scott had played through the entire co-op version of the game in one sitting.

“We have to do a gesture,” Stiles explained with a smirk after watching Derek knock against the metallic door with a single finger and a frown.

He turned to him and Stiles waved at him, knowing it would do for his side of the gesture.

“It opens when you do a human gesture,” He said with a shrug.

Derek’s eyebrows furrowed even more but then he set him mouth in a determined line and before Stiles could mock him for it Derek had stepped forward and grabbed his face. He met Stiles’ eyes long enough to give him a chance to back out before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

Once again Stiles found himself so shocked he forgot to bring his hand down from where it was still raised.

Derek stepped back before Stiles could even react other than swaying forward after Derek’s mouth before stopping himself.

The vault door activated but Stiles couldn’t look away, his mouth still hung open in shock and his hand still hadn’t moved from its position near his head.

“You kissed me.”

“It worked,” Derek responded looking away from the now open vault to meet Stiles’ bewildered stare. “What?”

“...Human gesture. Kissing. I... I had never thought of that.”

Derek’s frown was back, replacing what Stiles realized had been an elated and relieved expression. Stiles knew he was probably focusing on the wrong thing.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

“I wish it hadn’t,” Stiles blurted before he could stop himself. “I mean...”

Derek looked so confused it was actually quite cute.

Stiles wanted to ask Derek to kiss him again, he wanted to bring his hand down or maybe put it against Derek’s jaw to pull him in for a kiss of his own. But all he could do was stare at Derek like an idiot who had just basically insulted a plan that had obviously worked.

Seemingly fed up, Derek grabbed for Stiles’ hand to pull it down which somehow Stiles took as a legitimate move forward so he kissed Derek. It was at the most awkward angle to go with, Stiles realized too late, what was not an invitation for another kiss.

“Oh, my god,” Stiles said, letting his head fall back like he could use its momentum to go back in time a few seconds. “Sorry, sorry, I-”

“Stiles,” Derek interrupted, hands grabbing onto Stiles’ shoulder like he thought Stiles was about to stumble off the platform out of embarrassment.

Stiles kept his head where it was, staring purposefully at the ceiling. “Yep?”

“Look at me.”

Stiles shook his head as much as he could with his neck bent backwards. “Nah.”

Careful hands tilted his head forward again, forcing him to face Derek’s soft features.

Stiles frowned because Derek looked so damn peaceful, even the lines of his forehead were smoothed out. There was a small chance Stiles was focusing on that so he wouldn’t have to actually meet his eyes.

“Stiles.”

Derek’s hands didn’t leave, instead they tucked themselves around the curve of Stiles’ face, palms cupping his jaw and for one irrational second Stiles felt jealous because that was what he wanted to do to Derek.

“Are you going to kiss me again?” Stiles asked because his brain kept repeating it and his mouth failed him.

If Stiles felt confused Derek wasn’t doing much better. There was doubt in his features, like he felt a little lost, but there was also resolve, like Derek wanted this but hadn’t planned on it happening so soon and Stiles tried to focus on that rather than his own pounding heart.

But then Derek was kissing him again and this time it only took a moment before Stiles responded; kissing back like it was his one and only chance to prove that he could.

And boy could he.

It wasn’t perfect, his pulse was racing too fast and he got lightheaded too quickly but it was intoxicating and Stiles never wanted it to stop because he couldn’t be sure yet if it was a dream or part of the illusion or not.

He knew it was real, he could feel Derek’s scruff under his fingers when he did what he had imagined doing and grabbed his face to pull him closer, imitating Derek’s own hands on him.

They were perfectly placed for when Derek did try and lean back a little and Stiles could keep him there even though he was pretty sure he was about to pass out because he kept forgetting to actually breathe.

But it’s only when Derek whispered “Stiles, breathe” against his lips that he actually noticed enough to listen and comply.

Stiles opened his eyes, happy to see Derek hadn’t actually moved away and was still within kissing distance for when his vision stopped swimming because he was planning on going back in as soon as physically possible.

If his brain hadn’t been lacking so much oxygen he might have taken the time to be worried about his breath - it had been two to seven days depending on which one of them you asked and he missed his toothbrush - or how wet his lips were or even how shaky his fingers were against Derek’s face but then he got distracted by, well, Derek’s face.

Because it was smiling.

Discreetly. It was a discreet smile, but it was still there.

Then they heard a cough.

“Um, guys?”

Scott.

They were back in their own world.

“Was it a human gesture so spectacular it broke space and time or did we simply finish the game properly and we were actually set free?”

Neither of them had backed off, frozen in place like they weren’t sure what to believe anymore.

Derek cleared his throat and Stiles couldn’t help but grin when he realized he could feel that beneath his palm because they were still so close and very much touching. In the real world.

Then Derek rolled his eyes and let go, stepping back the slightest bit but he was still wearing that small discreet smile and his hand still brushed against Stiles’ as they turned to face Scott and, it turned out, the rest of the pack.

“We, um,” Kira started as she desperately tried to hide her smile. “We got the creature hours ago but we couldn’t figure out how to stop the... illusion. Obviously, you guys found a way.”

Scott closed his eyes like the entire world had just turned against him and Stiles couldn’t help but laugh.

They were free, no one got hurt, and Derek’s hand was still brushing against his. He was probably never going to play Portal again but he had a newfound appreciation for real life and the things that came with it. Like human gestures.


End file.
